1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to integrated circuit (IC) chips, and more particularly, to a capacitor having electrode terminals at the same end of the capacitor to reduce parasitic inductance.
2. Background Art
Vertical natural (VN) capacitors are used in integrated circuit (IC) chips. FIG. 1 shows one illustrative conventional capacitor 10 in which inter-digitated cathodes 12 and anodes 14 are generated in a single layer of an IC chip. Each cathode 12 is coupled by a terminal 16, which may be coupled to another layer by contacts 18. Similarly, each anode 14 is coupled by a terminal 20, which may be coupled to another layer by contacts 22. Each terminal 16, 20 includes a tab 24, 26, respectively, for coupling to other circuitry. One challenge relative to capacitor 10 is reducing parasitic inductance, which is caused, in part, by current flowing in opposite directions within capacitor 10, i.e., from/to tabs 24, 26, as capacitor 10 charges. The parasitic inductance lowers the overall quality factor of capacitor 10.